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Articles on Informal economy

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Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva receives the presidential sash from Aline Sousa, a 33-year-old collector of recyclable materials. Carl de Souza/AFP)

In Brazil, the future of environmental sustainability needs a strong ally: collectors of recyclable materials

Collectors of recyclable materials are omnipresent in developing countries such as Brazil, and their work has long been a critical part of waste management, disposal, and recycling.
A deserted Lagos road during the pandemic lockdown in April 2020. Adekunle Ajayi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Nigeria’s pandemic lockdown measures were hard on informal workers

Lockdown and stay-at-home orders may not benefit societies dominated by informal economies.
Informal head porter workers Percent Boatemaq (left) and Lusaka Fuseina (right) carrying goods on their heads at Agbogbloshie market in Accra, Ghana. Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images

The World Bank and IMF are using flawed logic in their quest to do away with the informal sector

Influential international actors like the World Bank and the IMF should focus on expanding social protection rather than focusing on eliminating the informal economy.
Unemployed Liberian young men seeking daily jobs at the industrial district of Bushrod Island, Monrovia, Liberia. EFE-EPA/Ahmed Jallanzo

How COVID-19 is likely to slow down a decade of youth development in Africa

Since 1999, extreme poverty has declined while rates of young people in education and employment have risen. Without investment though, the impact of the pandemic could see this progress imperilled,
A tightly packed and busy urban slum in Ajegunle, Lagos, Nigeria. shutterstock

Why African cities should have engaged non-state actors in the fight against COVID-19

Urban governance must include community groups, non-state and informal actors in the battle against COVID-19 in Africa.

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